Wednesday, October 31, 2007

With Patrice Bergeron injured and out of the lineup for a month or maybe longer, it looks like either Brandon Bochenski or Jeremy Reich will get into the lineup to try and contribute to the team. Bochenski put on muscle/weight in the offseason but that slowed him down so he has been trying to lose the weight and get his speed back. Reich I believe was hurt and is now healthy to play. The Bruins play the Sabres tomorrow and remember back to last season with Adam Mair's cheap shot elbow to David Krejci. A little later in the season, Jeremy Reich had a good fight and win against Adam Mair. We'll see if anything continues tomorrow night with these two teams.

The Randy Jones 2-game suspension for his cheap shot hit on Bruins' Patrice Bergeron is ridiculous, stupid, a disgrace to hockey, and a joke. I agree with Stephen Harris' article and I don't know why Colin Campbell can make suspension calls on what the outcome of hits leave an injured player. Meaning if a player is seriously hurt, such as Flyers' Steve Downie's vicious hit on Dean McAmmond which got him 20 games, then Downie gets suspended for a good amount of games. But if the player is not seriously hurt then there isn't much of a suspension. But Bergeron was seriously injured and Jones only gets 2 games?

The NHL says publicly that they want to protect their star players. Patrice Bergeron may not be the All-Star 100 point a season player yet, but he is a young and talented star for the league. He plays the game right and is a very nice person that does good for the game on the ice and off the ice. I don't know how many times I've heard of him doing things for charity. So what this suspension says to me is that the NHL thinks that since Bergeron is not paralyzed or dead it's not a serious injury. Or they think that it wasn't that bad a hit.

Also, to read about how the Philadelphia Flyers' organization, players, and even Jones were acting and saying before they heard the condition of Bergeron. From the article:

There is disgrace in this for the NHL and for the Flyers, who tried to put a positive spin on Jones' hit almost before Bergeron was in the ambulance. Incredibly, Jones, who Saturday night said he feared Bergeron's injuries might be life-threatening, said Monday he was disappointed to have been suspended for two games.

A more honorable man would have come out and said he got off too easily for an incredibly stupid and reckless act.

"One reason I have a tough time with this," said Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward, "is that even before Bergy had been diagnosed, Philly was already trying hard to get their side of the story out. Spinning? Absolutely. It should have been, 'Let's find out how badly hurt he is,' before they're worrying about what their punishment is going to be."

Bruins coach Claude Julien also was miffed by the Flyers' response.

"They seem to be disappointed that they lost a guy for two games," said Julien. "I'm extremely disappointed knowing I lost my player for I don't know how long, and we're talking about a key player here."

I agree with Ward's comments and with Julien's comments. The Flyers' organization is more concerned with their player rather than a player who was seriously injured. The Flyers are an embarrassment to hockey, now with 3 players suspended. Steve Downie was suspended because of a leaping hit to the head of Senators' Dean McAmmond which left him with a consussion; Jesse Boulerice was suspended for a cross check to Canucks' Ryan Kesler in the face with his stick; and now Jones. The Flyers' should be fine without Jones as he's not much of a player anyways. He's more of a 7th or 8th defenseman on a good team.

Bruins' goalie Manny Fernandez suffered a left knee sprain in practice yesterday and will be out of the lineup for an unknown period. With this news, the Bruins recalled rookie goalie Jordan Sigalet from the Providence Bruins (AHL). The Bruins play the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Flyers' defenseman Randy Jones, the guy who hit Bruins' Patrice Bergeron from behind into the boards which gave him a concussion and a broken nose, has been suspended for only 2 games. Wow so you only get suspended 2 games for almost killing someone. I think that is total bullshit and Jones should have received at least 5-10 games, or even more. More and more players are going to get injured with this hit from behind crap. I'm interested in seeing the next meeting between these two teams and see if someone goes after that piece of shit Jones. The next game against the Flyers is on Monday, November 26th at Philadelphia.

From a Yahoo! article, Patrice Bergeron was released from the hospital on Sunday. We'll probably hear soon how long they think Bergeron will be out of the lineup.

"Team spokesman Matt Chmura confirmed that Bergeron was discharged Sunday from Massachusetts General Hospital but declined to provide other details. Chmura said that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli might speak to reporters Monday to discuss how long Bergeron will be out of action."

Ok I said I would post the two fights from the Bruins-Flyers game on Saturday so here they are. The Shawn Thornton vs Riley Cote fight was awesome. This is fight of the year so far I would say. Both guys kept throwing punch after punch with no one going down. I would give a slight edge to Thornton in this fight. After Thornton vs Cote, Milan Lucic dropped the gloves with Flyers' Ben Eager and they had an ok fight. Lucic looked to land some punches on Eager, but after the fight it was Lucic with a cut on his cheek under his left eye. I would give this fight a draw. Watch both fights below. You can download video clips of these two fights here.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

If you haven't heard by now, Bruins' rookie Milan Lucic is staying with the Bruins and will not be returned to his Junior team as of right now. He still can be sent back to his Junior team at any time during the season.

After hearing he will be staying with the Bruins, Milan Lucic said (source):

"As a kid growing up it had always been my goal to play in the NHL, and now it's finally a reality. I have to do whatever it takes to stay around. It's a learning process and I'm trying to get better every day. That's the best way for me to stay here."

Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli on Lucic staying with the Bruins said (source):

"I told him he still has some things to work on and he agreed. But we like what he's brought so far, he's progressed and he's something the Bruins have been looking for, so we are happy to have him. He had some stretches along the way where he wasn't good and he recognizes that. He's improved as each day has gone by and we decided to keep him."

It should be fun watching Lucic play in all or most of the games this season.

The Bruins lost 2-1 against the Flyers yesterday but that wasn't the big or important news as far as I'm concerned. Patrice Bergeron was hit from behind by Flyers' defenseman Randy Jones and Bergeron went headfirst into the boards. Bergeron layed on the ice motionless and injured. It appears that Bergeron only has a concussion and a broken nose from the cheap hit. The Bruins released a statement regarding Bergeron, saying:

"After initially losing consciousness on the ice, Patrice has regained consciousness and has been taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he is undergoing a series of tests.

Patrice has sustained a concussion and a broken nose. The initial x-rays and CT scan have not shown any other serious injury to his head or neck, and he has full feeling and motion in all of his extremities.

We will continue to monitor Patrice and await the final results of his medical studies."

The game was getting physical before the cheapshot on Bergeron. Shawn Thornton had a great fight with Flyers' Riley Cote. It reminded me of the P.J. Stock vs Stephen Peat slugfest. They went toe to toe and after the fight it looked like Thornton had a black and blue right eye. I didn't see a close-up shot of Cote to see if he got tagged good. After that fight, rookie Milan Lucic and Flyers' Ben Eager dropped the gloves and had an ok fight, with Eager going down to the ice. After the fight you could see Lucic had a cut under his left eye I think. I will post these fights on this blog when I can.

Let's all send our best wishes and prayers to Patrice Bergeron and his family. We all hope he fully recovers and is able to play hockey again.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

In the first period of today's game against the Flyers, Patrice Bergeron was hit from behind headfirst into the boards by Flyers' defenseman Randy Jones. Bergeron had his back to Jones getting the puck and Jones did not let up and checked Bergeron into the boards. That to me is cheap and should not happen in hockey. Bergeron went down and looked to be motionless. We can only pray that it is nothing serious like a spinal cord injury. We'll have to wait to hear what the exact injury is.

The past week there have been other hits from behind, such as Senators' Volchenkov checking Panthers' David Booth from behind into the boards. This hitting from behind needs to be taken out of the game and if someone does it, they should be suspended. You got no guts/balls if you hit someone from behind.

Of course stupid Flyers' fans will probably say it wasn't cheap and not dirty.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Last night the Bruins got another win at home. This time beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. Phil Kessel and Tim Thomas had big games. Kessel scored two goals, and now has 5 goals for the season and is leading the Bruins in goals. Thomas made 26 saves on 27 shots against. Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara also had a good game, he played physical and he had a good fight against Blackhawks' enforcer David Koci. Koci had an injury to his nose from a fight against Maple Leafs' Wade Belak, but now his nose is really messed up as Chara bloodied him badly. After the fight Koci's face looked to be covered with blood, as did the ice surface where they fought. Watch the fight below.

Zdeno Chara bloodies David Koci

After the game Chara didn't say much about the fight. From BostonHerald.com, Chara said:

"It was just part of the game. It's something that... it's part of the game. He was doing his job, going hard at the net. I was doing my job, protecting the crease and the goalie. Things like that happen."

"You know what? I'm really excited for him. I was here for seven weeks last year and I know the pressure he is under to perform, and that includes being a presence on the ice. It's tough to get a dance partner out there. When you get an opportunity like that, it's very apparent that he plays that role. That's months, if not a year or more, of tension and frustration there. Unfortunately that young man bore the brunt of the emotion Z had pent up there. That's the first time I've actually clapped on the ice. I had lost my stick when we all paired off. The fight got done, and I looked up and I clapped."

Some news on Milan Lucic, it looks like he may be getting tired. Remember he was playing even before the pre-season and before rookie camp. A part from the same article (link above):

"Lucic said his confidence has been growing game by game, although he admitted he is feeling fatigue after a very busy few months.
"Fatigue is starting to kick in," he said. "I've been going at it for a few months already. But that's just something you've got to battle through. I'm just going to sure I get rest and I'm prepared to go when it's time to go."

Don't be surprised if Lucic is scratched in one of the upcoming games to give him a rest and maybe Jeremy Reich or Brandon Bochenski will get to play their first game of the season. The Bruins play the Philadelphia Flyers on tomorrow at 4pm. Expect a physical game between these two teams. I'm expecting a Shawn Thornton vs Riley Cote match-up. Maybe even a Milan Lucic vs Ben Eager match-up.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

On Monday the Bruins got blown out 6-1 by the hated Montreal Canadiens. Manny Fernandez looked to have a bad game, even though some of the goals he allowed could have been blamed on bad defense and losing faceoffs in the defensive zone. So far this season it's looking like Tim Thomas should be the Bruins' starting goalie and Fernandez backing him up.

Later tonight the Bruins play at home against the Chicago Blackhawks who are 5-4-0. The Bruins are 5-3-0 and are currently tied for 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 10 points. The Bruins are second place in the Northeast division behind the Ottawa Senators, who are 8-1-0 and have 16 points. Look for this game to be physical as they have one of the top enforcers in the league with David Koci. Last season Koci joined the Blackhawks late and had a wild first game with two good fights against Josh Gratton. Also Koci beat Derek Boogaard in a fight in the pre-season this year so he is someone to watch out for.

Good news for other Milan Lucic fans out there, it looks like he may be staying with the Bruins for longer than the 9-10 games. From a BostonHerald.com article:

The B's, in effect, have Lucic on a nine-game tryout, before having to decide if he will stay with the team or be sent back to juniors. The organization already has decided Lucic will be sticking around.

Lucic's junior coach, Don Hay of the Vancouver Giants, said in Sunday's edition of the Vancouver Province that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli gave him the news recently.

"What (Chiarelli) told me is that the nine-game rule doesn't mean anything to them," Hay said. "To them, how he is playing is what will dictate whether he'll stay. He said that it doesn't mean he isn't going to come back at some time, but just don't expect it after nine games."

"I'm living a dream," Lucic said. "I'm having a lot of fun. I just want to do everything in my power to keep this going. (The Bruins) haven't really said anything to me. I'll know after the ninth game. I'm not looking too far ahead.... I'm just going to try and play like I have the past ones."

Friday, October 19, 2007

Before yesterday's game, the Bruins were 19-2-6-0 all-time against the Lightning on home ice. They improved that record to 20 wins with yesterday's 4-1 win over the Lightning. The game started out with a lot of energy and we saw some physical play. The home crowd got to see Bruins' rookie Milan Lucic for the first time and he didn't disappoint as he dropped the gloves with Lightning tough guy Nick Tarnasky and pounded away on Tarnasky's face with rights. Watch the video below. Bruins' Marco Sturm scored two goals, including the game winner, while Tim Thomas made 35 saves to get the win. Thomas is now 3-1 with a 1.26 GAA and 96.2% save percentage. He looks like he should be the starter over Fernandez right now in the season.

Nick Tarnasky vs Milan Lucic

You can download video clips of this fight and the Andre Roy vs Shawn Thornton fight here.

"I've had to talk about this guy every day, so he is obviously doing something right," said Julien on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, when asked if Milan will be sticking with the Bruins Julien said that no decision has been made as of yet.

"I can't declare anything because I am not the guy who has the last say on that," said Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien. "So it will be a matter of Peter (Chiarelli) and everyone else involved, (making) the decision.

"But I can stand here as a coach and tell you I like what I see," he said.

What's not to like?

The kid has asserted himself, and the rumor around the room yesterday amongst his teammates was that Milan was the quickest ever to have notched the coveted "Gordie Howe Hat trick" (a goal, an assist and a fight) on Friday, October 12th against the Kings.

I'm hoping Lucic stays with the Bruins but I know they have a similar player in Jeremy Reich, who hasn't played yet and yesterday found out he is injured. Also the Bruins don't like carrying around players that don't play, as like last season. So we'll see what happens.

The Bruins will play the New York Rangers tomorrow at 4pm. Should be a good physical game. I'm thinking Shawn Thornton and ex-Bruin Colton Orr will meet up at some time during the game.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Last night's game was a wild scoring-fest with the Bruins and Kings going back and forth in the third period with goals. It's a good thing that Marc Savard played in this game as he played well and picked up 5 points, 1 goal and 4 assists. It was definitely a night of firsts for some Bruins' players. Rookie Milan Lucic picked up his first NHL goal, and had a Gordie Howe hat trick in this game. You can see Lucic's fight with Kings' enforcer Raitis Ivanans and Lucic's first career NHL goal down below. Phil Kessel recorded his first NHL hat trick. B's goalie Manny Fernandez picked up his first win as a member of the Bruins, even though the Bruins' defense did not play well. Later tonight the Bruins play at the San Jose Sharks, against former Bruins Joe Thornton and Kyle McLaren.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Yesterday the Bruins lossed 2-1 to the Ducks in a well played game by both teams. The Bruins started the game strong hitting and playing physical. The Ducks didn't seem to start really playing and playing physical until the second period and seemed to take over the game from there. The Ducks' physical play caused the Bruins to make mistakes and maybe wear them down, as the Ducks took advantage. I don't know if anyone else brought up this point but at the end of game, coach Julien put out the Bruins' fourth line. I know the fourth line worked hard all night and played well, but when you need a goal I would think you would put out your best players. Also with Marc Savard out of the game, Brandon Bochenski was dressed but he didn't get one second of ice time. Does Julien have something against Bochenski or has Bochenski really disappointed Julien in practice? I know he doesn't play center but he could have got a rare shift on the wing at times in the game. Maybe we'll see him get some ice time in the next game if Savard is still hurt.

The next game for the Bruins is on Friday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have a young team that the Bruins may be able to take advantage of. I think it will be a close game though. Marc Savard is still day-to-day and a decision will be made Friday morning if he'll play against the Kings or not.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Bruins' center Marc Savard will not play tonight against the Anaheim Ducks as he has a groin strain. Also Tim Thomas will be starting in goal for the Bruins tonight. Tonight will be a good matchup for the Bruins to see how they play against last season's champions, although the Ducks are missing quite a few players from last season.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The Bruins are 1-1 at the beginning of the 07-08 NHL hockey season. Their loss against the Dallas Stars showed that they can be shut down against a good defense and a good goalie. Last night's win against the Phoenix Coyotes showed that they can take advantage of the mistakes made by a younger inexperienced team and capitalize on those chances. In both of the games so far this season, the Bruins have shown grit, teamwork, and not allowing themselves to be pushed around. Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic both got into fights in the Stars game. Although they didn't drop the gloves against the Coyotes, they made their presence felt with some good physical play. Thornton currently has a sore hand from his fight against the Stars' Todd Fedoruk, so that may have influenced Thornton to not fight last night. It was also good to see Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara play physical and get in the face of Coyotes' captain Shane Doan a few times last night. That was something we didn't see much of last season from Chara. One bad note about last night was that All-Star center Marc Savard was injured late in the second period with a "core injury" which is a muscle strain in his midsection. Hopefully it's not anything serious.

The Bruins next game is against the defending Stanley Cup champs Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. Shawn Thornton will be playing against his former team. It should be a good physical game.

"Last season, Metropolit split time between the Atlanta Thrashers and St. Louis Blues and totaled 14 goals and 19 assists in 77 games with the two clubs. He appeared in 57 games with the Thrashers before being traded to St. Louis along with three draft picks (a first and third round pick in 2007 and a second round pick in 2008) for Keith Tkachuk on February 25, 2007."

With Metropolit making the team I'm expecting him to be the Bruins' fourth line center and that means that either Jeremy Reich or Milan Lucic to be scratched at times.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

On Monday the Bruins announced that defenseman Matt Hunwick, center Petteri Nokelainen, and center Nate Thompson have been assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL). Also left wing Jeff Hoggan has been placed on waivers and if he clears waivers he will be assigned to Providence.

It's good to see prospect rugged winger Milan Lucic will be on the Bruins roster at the start of this season. He's probably going to play in the first 9 games and then be sent back to his Junior team. But Bruins fans will get to see one of the future players for the Bruins. Here's what Chiarelli had to say about Lucic from BostonBruins.com:

"I think Milan started very strongly," said the GM. "He is a big, strong player, strong along the boards -- you've seen him fight. "He has a little finish and that has been improving. "He's tailed off a little bit in the last couple of games and practices, (but) we attribute that to fatigue... he's been, pretty much, going non-stop since the beginning of July," Chiarelli said. Furthermore, Lucic embodies the "harder to play against" mold that the club has been coveting. "He's got a lot of what we are looking for," said Chiarelli. "And we are going to look at him a little bit further -- we have the luxury of those nine games (pertaining to his contract status) and I think at this point we are going to take advantage of some of those games... (but) he's a big strong kid that we like."